America’s Fattest States: Are You Living in One?

I'm sorry to tell you this, butwe Americans have gotten fatter yet again. We are our fattest yet! Not just fat -- OBESE. In every dang state of the union, at least 20 percent of the populationis obese. That means at least two out of every 10 people. And that's just in Skinnyland Colorado. Hell, in our "fattest" state, Mississippi, it's nearly 35 percent. You guys. What is going on with us? Why are we getting fatter and fatter?!?

Advertisement

The Centers for Disease Control made us these handy-dandy color-coded maps to show us exactly where the fat be happening (Deep South, lawd have mercy!). And we get to compare maps to see how the fat just growed and growed and growed over the past several years. How in god's name did we win so many Olympic medals with a populace this pudgy? I ask you.

Now I am all for fat acceptance and loving your body in whatever shape it's in and separating the idea of "weight" from "health." But when you notice a major trend like this, it kind of makes you wonder what the hell is going on.

Every year the CDC shows us these maps and America basically shrugs and says, "So?" and keeps eating their Funyuns and laughing at cats on YouTube. (Not that there's anything wrong with that per se.) Oh wait, no -- a few sanctimonious types say it's because we lack willpower. "If those fat people would just stop eating so dang much and exercise, bla bla bla."

But when you see a long-term trend this, er, BIG, I have to think it's not about willpower. This is about our whole way of life -- all of it, the fast food, the cars, the entertainment, the advertising, the politics. The whole tamale! It's so complex and yet we keep wanting to pull out one tiny thread to fix everything. But until we start looking at the whole system, we're just going to stay on the obesity escalator.